For more than 50 years, golfers and golf equipment manufacturers have strived to develop a convenient way to tee the golf ball a consistent height. First attempts were made by tee makers. Tees were made with a shoulder or step on the shaft a fixed distance from the top of the tee. This made the tee height consistent but it had 2 flaws. That fixed height had to be right for everyone, which was undesirable, and the shoulder created a weak spot in the tee which results in the tee breaking, usually after one use.
Then came the inventions by Driscoll U.S. Pat. No. 3,658,331, Musillo U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,510 and Miketinac U.S. Pat. No. 5,735,758. As described in each patent, these inventions incorporate a tool which is actually used in the placement of a tee into the ground. This requires the golfer to carry the tool in his bag or pocket during the round of golf. Upon teeing the ball at each hole, the player must remove the tool from his pocket, insert the tee in the tool, place the tee in the ground, return the tool to his pocket, then place his/her ball on the tee. This whole process requires extra time teeing the ball, thus slowing down play which is frowned upon in the game of golf.
Another shortcoming of these inventions is that many golfers prefer their pockets be as empty as possible while playing a round of golf. Things like, keys, coins, lighters etc . . . , can be an annoyance when making a golf swing. Many would find the tool an annoyance for this reason and others would just be too embarrassed to use such a tool in front of there comrades.
A golfer could simply use a standard ruler to mark his/her tees, with say, a pen or marker, to have a reference point to control the depth he/she places his/her tee in the ground, but due to the shape of a golf tee, this is a bit awkward or cumbersome.